The Stranger
by EverKitsune
Summary: On a trip along the shore, catastrophy strikes with the force of a small hurricane. Sun Ce, Gan Ning and Lu Meng make it back, but Zhou Yu is assumed dead. Years later, who is this strange man who looks so much like him but knows no one?
1. Chapter 1

**The Stranger**

**Summary: A trip along the shoreline turns sour when a storm hits and the boat is sweapt out to sea. Lu Meng, Gan Ning, and Sun Ce make it to shore, but Zhou Yu is no where to be found. He is proclaimed dead, but several years later, who is this man from japan who looks so much like him, but knows no one? Alternate universe**

**Disclaimer: I do not have the privilege of claiming that I own any of these people. Koei and W-omega Force does, although the characters belong to themselves. This is the only disclaimer I shall put, as this is the first chapter and I will forget the rest of the time.**

**Pairings: cannon as I can make it. With a big thank-you to 'red river' for letting me use her characterizations of these wonderful characters. **

**Warnings: This does contain some graphic violence, alternate universe, and even some things that can be considered yaoi if you want to think that way. **

**As for reviews, I shall reply to them with the reply button, and if you are an anonymous either leave your e-mail, or I shall have a spot in my bio for your replies. Thank you for your time.**

**Chapter One: The Storm**

The weather was pleasant, and the sky was completely blue save for a few wispy clouds above them. Sun Ce, the young lord of Wu, was fishing on the deck. Zhou Yu was watching the man from his position in the shade. They were taking a trip along the shoreline, for once, just to relax. But every time Zhou Yu closed his eyes he could see it...his desk piling with more and more paperwork. The man was startled out of his musing with an angry shout from Sun Ce.

"I can't take it anymore!" His brown locks waved in front of his eyes and he pushed them away, scowling. "No one can sit here for hours and expect nothing to happen!" Zhou Yu raised a slender eyebrow.

"You've only been there for a half hour Ce, be a little more patient." Sun Ce scowled.

"Why don't you come over here and try then?" Zhou Yu sighed as Sun Ce started reeling the line in, coming up next to the man. Suddenly the line grew taught, and the rod was almost pulled out of Sun Ce's grip. The little conqueror blinked at it for a moment. "Hey! I caught something!" He started reeling it in.

"Ce, slowly, reel it in slowly or the fish will escape," Zhou Yu cautioned, eying the dark shape in the water warily. The fish suddenly started swimming for all it was worth, almost pulling Sun Ce overboard. Zhou Yu grabbed the rod as well and a moment later, they were both in the water.

"Dammit! It got away!" Sun Ce cried, smacking water with his fist as he surfaced. Zhou Yu scowled at him, brushing hair out of his face as he tried to keep on the surface. Sun Ce looked up at the boat moving slowly away from them. "Hey! Man overboard!" He started swimming towards it. "Meng!"

Lu Meng appeared at the boat side a few seconds later, and shouted over his shoulder, before tossing a rope to them. The two friends grabbed it, and felt themselves pulled up moments later. They collapsed on the deck a few moment later, chocking on salt water. Lu Meng scowled, standing over them. "By the gods, how did you manage that by fishing Sun Ce?"

Sun Ce scowled, "I don't want to hear it, Meng, it was the fish's fault!" Zhou Yu rolled his eyes and went back to his cabin to change. On his way off deck, he heard Gan Ning announce that it was going to rain soon.

**That Night**

Zhou Yu managed to grab onto the railing just before a giant wave slammed over the side. Coughing, he managed to grab a rope from the mast to raise the sails. Gan Ning's voice was heard barely over the noise. "Grab onto something! We're on top of a big swell, and who knows what'll happen!" Zhou Yu grasped the stairs as he made his way up towards the captains deck.

The ship groaned with strain as the wave slammed over it, knocking Zhou Yu into the side of the ship. The strategist head snapped back, smacking into the wall behind him. He blinked stars away from his eyes and looked up as the main mast came down, crashing only inches from him. He blocked his eyes as splinters scattered all around, getting a few imbedded in his clothes. He started to move away, and realized suddenly that his sleeve was trapped beneath the broken mast. Zhou Yu grabbed at the seam, trying to pull it out before the next swell came.

He tried to no avail. The wave crashed into him with the force of a two ton boulder, shattering his arm and completely ripping his sleeve off. He felt the wall cave beneath him, and the next moment, he was in the water.

Sun Ce slammed his head on the back of the cabin, as he rolled backwards, away from the door he had so desperately tried to reach. He heard a muffled crash from above deck, as well as many voices crying out. Sun Ce stumbled out the door, crashing into Lu Meng, who fell to the floor in the shin deep water. The young man blinked, "where did all this water come from?" Lu Meng got unsteadily to his feet.

"Some above, some below," he glanced back toward's the stairs. "She can't hold, And the hull's shattered. Sun Ce's eyes widened.

"You mean..." Lu Meng nodded. "We're sinking? We've got to tell Gan Ning!" Sun Ce dragged himself forward against a rush of water from above, watching as the water rushed down the stairs behind them. "What about the men below?" Lu Meng shrugged, and Sun Ce's mouth turned grim. "I'll go tell them to get to the deck, you tell Gan Ning!" Lu Meng nodded, and Sun Ce stumbled backwards, stumbling down the narrow stairs. "Hey! Get up on deck! The ships taking in too much water, if you're caught down here your dead!" The men had been closing the large wooden door against the strong current and they looked at each other, and seconds later they were all racing up the stairs, pushing Sun Ce back. "Hey! Close the door first!" He pulled the pronged handle to close the door against the waist high water rushing in above and under him. "Come on..." The door creaked shut, slamming against the barrage of water. It groaned with the strain, and Sun Ce realized that it was going to cave soon, and he would be caught in it if he didn't get out of there.

The stairs were harder to climb up than they were to get down, but somehow he managed. He slipped forward in the hallway as the ship gave another groan. Something shattered, and the rushing water behind him stopped the Sun lord in his tracks. He looked back the way he had come, saw the water bursting from the stairway he had just come from, and ran. Adrenaline coursed through his limbs and he had grabbed onto the staircase and was halfway up by the time the water was upon him, he reached the last step just in time and pulled himself over it, immediately being swept up by a wave. He gripped something just before he fell over, into the raging storm, and gripped it for dear life. And then the largest swell he had ever seen rushed over the boat, and Sun Ce knew no more.

**On shore**

Sun Ce groaned, twisting over and exhaling sea water from his stomach. Then he noticed the pain in his leg. Like something heavy was trapping him...The young man snapped open his hazel eyes and saw that his leg was stuck under a beam. "What?" He stared stupidly at the debris from the ship around him for a moment before it all came back to him. The boat, the storm, the big huge wave...Sun Ce groaned, and tried to pull his leg out from under the beam. He lifted his arm to try and pull it out and noticed that he had something balled in his fist.

He held the remains of what looked like the sleeve to a robe. A very familiar sleeve, one that his best friend had been wearing earlier. "Yu?" He shouted, yelling the name as loud as he possibly could. "Meng? Ning?" He collapsed back onto the sand, feeling dizzy. A shout to his right made him sit up again. "Gan Ning!"

"Hey, next time you decide to take us on some trip, don't try to kill us!" Lu Meng's voice was heard from somewhere behind him. Gan Ning scowled.

"Like it was my fault! Just be glad we all made it back in one piece...hey, where's you foot?" He asked Sun Ce suddenly worried. The trapped man scowled.

"It's under the log, now get it off of me!" Sun Ce yelled, "We have to find Yu! Something could of happened to him!" Gan Ning and Lu Meng got on either side of the beam and lifted just enough for Sun Ce to lift his foot out. The young lord hopped to his feet, testing to see if he could walk on it. The two generals were panting, leaning on the heavy log for support. "Thanks guys," Sun Ce smiled, before glancing at the ripped sleeve. "Did you guys find anyone else?"

"Just a few crew, but we've already sent them to the nearest town to get their wounds checked, and to find where we are." Sun Ce nodded.

"Good work," He felt an unusual chill seeping through his body. "Let's look for Yu...he may yet be alive."

Two hours later they were still searching for the missing strategist. Lu Meng collapsed on the ground, "Give it up, he's dead, if we haven't found him, he's gone." Sun Ce flinched visibly. He turned and grasped the warrior's shirt.

"I've had it with you're negativity! He's not dead! He can't be!" Sun Ce's blazing hazel eyes met with Lu Meng's calm ones, and he let go of the man's shirt collar, dropping to his knee's. No sobbing was heard, but the surly warrior was sure that his lord was crying. "Dammit Yu, we're supposed to unite this land together! I can't do it by myself!" Sun Ce gripped Zhou Yu's sleeve tightly, feeling the soft, soothing silk, as if zhou Yu was trying to comfort him.

Gan Ning appeared over the sand, panting slightly as he ran, bells jingling. "I am sorry my lord, Zhou Yu is no where to be found...he must have been whisked out to sea in the storm."

Sun Ce sighed, still facing the sand, "Is there any chance...any chance that he survived?"

Gan Ning looked out at the deceptively peaceful ocean, "I'm afraid that his chances are very slim." Sun Ce looked up, hazel eyes meeting Gan Ning's.

"How slim?" Gan Ning faltered, looking at the ground.

"I'd say, one in a million." Sun Ce gripped the sleeve tighter. Whispering Zhou Yu's name into the deathy still air.

**Japan, shore**

The young girl walked along the shoreline, sandals gripped in one hand, and her hair ribbon wrapped in the other. Her kimono was wet along the bottom, but she didn't seem to mind, and she let her long brown hair flutter in the wind. As she neared the rocks she stopped, seeing something moving among the grey protrusions. She ran forward, and gripped the nearest rock, peering over it. Her breath caught in her throat. There stood the most handsome man she had ever seen.

His dark hair framed his white skin perfectly. For a moment she thought he was a god, but then she saw the blood trickling down his face into the water from a cut along the hairline. She climbed over the rocks and into the water, checking to see if he was breathing. He wore the tattered remains of strange clothes, and she wondered where he was from. "Wake up," she shook him, making the man groan and squirm under her grip.

He opened his eyes and looked up at the young girl, then he panicked, thrashing in the water. The girl let go, frightened, and watched with wide eyes as he rolled over in the water and coughed up sea water. "Are you all right?" She asked, seeing that the man had stopped thrashing. He turned his dark eyes to her and she jumped.

"What?" The man asked her, "where am I?" The girl shook her head, she didn't know what he was saying. He was foreign, she couldn't understand a thing he said.

The man put a hand to his head, and when he withdrew it, he saw the blood staining his head. It was then that he couldn't remember anything. No, he could remember his name, Yu, and he could remember that he lived in Wu, but nothing else. It was obvious that the girl was from a strange land, but as he looked around, he realized that he was the stranger. His tattered silk garments told him that.

The girl put a hand on his arm, motioning to herself. "Hanako." She stated, pointing to herself, "Hanako." Her name, he realized, she was telling him her name. He pointed to himself.

"Yu." The girl smiled, and dragged him over the rocks, babbling in her language. He had no choice but to follow, after all, he needed to know who he was, and maybe the girl could help. He looked out at the sea, somehow knowing that it had something to do with his memory loss. He was lost, confused, and he had no idea where he was, or how he would get back to this 'Wu.'

So he followed Hanako.

**End Chapter one**

**How do you like it? I wanted to get this up before I left, so I have no idea when I'll be able to update, but I wanted to get it out none the less. Xq of Wu asked me to make this story, and as I already had some of the outline done, I decided to post it first, I hope no one minds. Anyway, no, I refuse to have an Oc paired with Zhou Yu, sorry. I'd rather keep this one cannon, as that is what was suggested for me. I'm sorry, but if you want, you can say that Sun Ce and Zhou Yu love each other, I don't really care personally, because quite frankly I like this couple. **

**I don't know too much about Japan in 200 A.D. but I found this book just a little earlier, called 'The Kingfisher History encyclopedia' Tho I'm a bit miffed at it because it doesn't say much about the three kingdoms era. But I can't complain because it's helping me with this fic. I'll have a spot for Japanese terms used in each chapter for you, and just so you know, I don't know that much Japanese, so you shouldn't worry to much. If I get any facts wrong, or if you have information that might help with this story, I'd be honored to get it! For your entertainment and enjoyment.**

**Thank you for reading, and I hope it was worth your time. If you have another minute, I'd be happy to hear what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Stranger**

**Thank you everyone, for your kind reviews! They make me so happy! I'm terribly sorry for the wait, some things came up and I had to move, so my internet was cut for a little while, but now I'm back, hopefully with no more delays.**

**Chapter Two: Funeral to the Living**

Their horses breath wheezed with the strain of the long run, but the three riders payed them no heed. His face was stone cold as they galloped up the streets of Jiang Dong to the palace of Wu. The gate creaked on its hinges as it swung open, the soldiers at the top shouting greetings to the young lord and his two officers. Sun Ce dismounted at the door and handed the reigns to a servant, tossing his riding cloak to the floor, where it was immediately picked up.

"Da!" He shouted, and for a good minute the voice echoed in the great room. He took a seat on the throne, his chestnut locks had come loose from their tie, and were now floating about his shoulders in disarray. A minute later, the quick, light padding of slippered feet flowed into the hall, and Da, and her little sister Xiao appeared before him, all smiles.

Da Qiao noticed it first, her husband was troubled. He wasn't smiling, and there were dark circles under his eyes that suggested sleepless nights. His hazel eyes were not sparkling with mirth as they usually did. She knelt before her husband, taking his large hand in her two porcelain ones. "What is it My Lord? What's happened?"

Lu Meng and Gan Ning entered, stopping dead at the scene. Xiao Qiao looked at the two for a moment before looking at Sun Ce. "Where's Zhou Yu?" Sun Ce was not looking at her, so she turned to the two officers, who had both found new interest in the floor. Sun Ce raised his head and looked at the young women before him.

"He's dead." The words stopped even the servant placing tea from moving, even though the kettle was slowly dripping hot tea onto her lap. Those two words rang in the ears of everyone within hearing range. Xiao seemed to become a statue, a beautiful statue with crystal tears dropping to the floor from beautiful brown eyes. Then she moved, she moved like the river of Jiang Dong, the light pattering of her slippered feet was the only sound, not even a sob was heard from the running girl.

"Xiao!" Da Qiao ran after her sister, and for yet another minute nothing was heard. Then Sun Ce looked at Lu Meng.

"I promote you, Lu Meng, to master strategist, and you may choose any pupil you wish." Lu Meng bowed, but Sun Ce didn't register the gesture, for he had covered his eyes with his hand, willing away a head ache.

"My lord, I would like Lu Xun as my apprentice, please." Sun Ce nodded, and Lu Meng turned to leave. Gan Ning looked after him, then turned his head to Sun Ce.

"My Lord, I am sorry, I read the clouds wrong, I thought that we would be able to pass before the storm hit-!"

"No," Sun Ce looked at him, "It's fine, everyone makes mistakes. A lot more people died besides Zhou Yu. Inform all the families that lost someone, and get some rest. Word will soon be heard that Yu is dead. Wu is in mourning, for Zhou Yu was my brother, and just as much a part my family as I am. He will never be forgotten."

**One week later**

Sun Ce, in front of all of the Wu officers, and his family, took the engraved stone tablet in his hands and placed it next to his ancestors. Then he stood and faced the crowd. "Zhou Yu's birth family has deserted him, but his new family never will! He is just as much a part of the Sun family as I am, and I refuse to let him be alone in the heavens! Zhou Yu, wherever you are, know that you are my family, and that you shall never be alone!"

That night Xiao Qiao sat in the rooms she once shared with Zhou Yu, holding a vase that he had given her a little while after they were married. "It is from a place called Rome, and its far to the west of here, passed the great mountains. It is called an amphora It came from Chang 'An, on the silk road. Someday, if peace ever returns to the land, I would like to take you there, to show you the many things the merchants of these far countries bring." Xiao gripped the handles of the vase, tears dripping onto the brightly colored vase.

"That's what you said Zhou Yu, but now you never will! You promised so many things, but now none of them will come true!" She threw the vase against the wall, where it shattered. A piece flew and cut her cheek beneath the eye, but she didn't care, as she had collapsed on the bed, curled up in a ball and weeping. The door opened, and Da entered, looking alarmed.

"Xiao, is everything all right? I heard a crash and-!" She gasped at the broken pottery on the floor and looked at her sister with a harsh glare. But when she saw her sister's tear stricken face, she couldn't hold the harsh face. She wrapped her arms around her sister, and stayed by her side all night.

**Japan, 1 year later**

"Father sold me to this place long ago," Hanako said to Zhou Yu, as they carted water from the courtyard into the kitchen. "It was only by chance that the Lady took a liking to me and adopted me as her baby sister." A year had passed since Hanako had found Zhou Yu at the beach, and she had immediately taken him here, the court of the young lord, Master Yamato, though, everyone called him Master. The Lady that adopted Hanako was called Lady Keiko, though the servants just called her Mistress.

Zhou Yu set the buckets he had been carrying down. "If that is true, then why do you still work with the servants?" His Japanese had progressed very rapidly, as the Mistress had made sure he could speak it. Hanako put her bucket down as well, and they both took a seat in the courtyard.

"I may have been adopted by the Mistress, however, I must earn my keep, and pay off my debt for the kindness that has been shown me." She smiled, looking at the pond. "You are a mystery, and very intriguing, Yu-san, where might you have come from, to show up on the shore, so near death?"

Zhou Yu looked at the ground, "I am sorry, Hanako-san, I am afraid, that I do not remember anything before that day but my name, Yu, and some place that I suppose is very important, Wu."

"It is a pity," Hanako said, looking at him, "I would very much like to know you better, as we have hardly spoken in many months. I remember my family, and I hope that one day I can make my own, but you remember nothing, not even this language. It must be hard."

Zhou Yu bowed his head, rising. "It is, however, I owe you a debt that I have yet to pay for the kindness you have shown me."

Hanako stood as well, following him towards the kitchen. "Yu-san, you are as much my brother, a part of my family, as anyone else, I am glad to have met someone like you." She bowed, "I would be honored it you would be my brother."

"I am honored to be so." Zhou Yu smiled, and taking her bucket, he went to fill the water basin in the kitchen.

**Tbc...**

**Translations:**

**-san: All purpose honorific used in any situation when politeness is required. The most common honorific. **

**Thank you very much for reading, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. I apologize if it is too short**, **but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Please, don't worry, the pairings are strictly cannon, however, there are going to be slight hints of Ce/Yu, though I call it brotherly affection, you may call it something else if you wish.** **This is my last post before school starts. I hope you can understand, for a while, updates might be long. **


	3. Chapter 3

**The Stranger**

**Thank-you for reading and reviewing! I'm so grateful! Truly! I hope that everyone can continue to enjoy this! A big shout out to xq-of-Wu, because she's the one that requested it, and therefore, this story is as much dedicated to her as everyone else on who grace this story with their presence! **

**Chapter Three: Surpassing the Master**

**Two years later**

"Lu Xun, when sieging a castle, what is the first step you should do?" Lu Meng asked his young pupil, half-heartedly reading over a note that young Sun Quan had delivered from Sun Ce requesting an update on the supplies.

Lu Xun smiled, "I would secure a strong supply line and order siege units," Lu Meng scrunched up his head in thought, and Lu Xun bit his lip. A few moments passed as Lu Meng scribbled an answer on the paper.

"And, what would you do next?" Lu Xun took a brush and mixed some ink. He wet the brush and drew a large castle.

"I've seen this castle in my dreams..." Lu Meng stopped his work and watched his young apprentice with interest. Lu Xun moved in a half trance like state, working the brush back and forth across the paper. "The army moves to attack all four castle gates. The enemy defenses are strong, but we have reinforcements, and a strong supply line. We destroy the enemy defenses with catapults, then send the army in to attack with rams. When the enemy beats us back and gets to our commander, he disappears, and re-appears in the real main camp, the other being just a ploy. Then we would charge in, and destroy the enemy commander." Lu Xun dropped the brush and gazed across the paper. There were slash marks all across it, and marks and arrows that held meaning only to the two in the room.

Lu Meng couldn't help but give a bitter smile, "It's a sad day in Wu when the youngest officer can beat the commander in wits. Well done Lu Xun, It seems that you are well worth being my successor." Lu Xun stood quickly and bowed.

"Lord Lu Meng! I would never dream of taking your place!" Lu Meng sighed.

"That is not your decision to make." Lu Xun almost flinched, and the surly general sighed again. "Sorry Lu Xun, its really up to Sun Ce, and he's still sulking about Zhou Yu's death."

"Lord Lu Meng," Lu Xun chose his words carefully, "Lord Zhou Yu was a great man, and Lord Sun Ce is an exceptional leader. You should not speak so ungraciously about such great men." Lu Meng snorted.

"When you've known those two as long as I have, you wont be saying such things about them. Sun Ce is an idiot, and Zhou Yu was just as unfeeling as Sun Ce is happy-go-lucky. I could swear there was something between them..."

"My lord?" Lu Xun looked confused, which made Lu Meng smirk. Reaching one rough hand over, her picked up Lu Xun's drawing and examined it.

"If Zhou Yu was still alive...perhaps they would have been more than just brothers one day, just to annoy me, I bet."

"If Lord Zhou Yu were still alive, I would like to have learned from him as well." Lu Xun bowed, and excused himself from the room.

Xiao Qiao sighed, laying on the chair with a book resting on her chest and watching Sun Ce and her sister play goh. The look of concentration was one that meant he was thinking too hard. Finally he placed his white stone on the board with a satisfying _clack._ Da Qiao's poker face was not harmed during Sun Ce's exchange, and she reached out with a black stone and connected with another, successful cutting off Sun Ce's passage of conquest and winning the game.

The young lord frowned and began putting his stones away after heaving a great big sigh. Xiao watched her brother in law for a minute, thoughts of her supposedly dead husband rising like stirred dust. "Sun Ce," The man started, scattering stones all under the table. With a scowl, he dove after them under the table. Xiao Qiao looked out the window, at the sunlight drifting through it, like the rays of hope in her heart. "Do you think that Yu is still alive?"

There was a loud crash as Sun Ce dropped the bowl of Goh stones and smacked his head on the roof of the table, all at once. Sun Ce yelped, and tossed the stones back into the bowl heatedly. When he rose, Xiao Qiao was almost sorry she asked, as his face held the look of ultimate heart break. "No Qiao," he said, setting the stones on the table next to the board. "I don't know if he's still alive or not...we never...we never found his body..." Sun Ce choked.

The book fell to the ground as Xiao sprang up from her seat. She pointed an accusing finger at Sun Ce. "How dare you! How dare you say that Sun Ce!" Da Qiao's head snapped up, startled at the sudden raise in voice. Sun Ce turned on his heal, heading for the door. "Sun Ce! How could you betray him like that! Your own brother!" The door slammed shut behind him.

Sun Ce continued to his room, where he took out the torn sleeve, faded and worn, but still soft and silky. "Yu...why did you leave...I miss you... Xiao misses you...hell, even Lu Meng misses you, even though he'll never admit it, the sour-puss..." Sun Ce clenched his hand tight around the silk. "Wherever you are, whatever your doing, give me the strength to complete my dream."

**Japan, capitol**

Zhou Yu walked one step behind Hanako on the crowded market streets, keeping his katana close at hand as they shopped near the castle gates. Hanako was happily bubbling about trade items from China and other places. Zhou Yu was keeping one eye on Hanako and one eye around them when he saw it, a brief shadow on the roof. "Hanako-san, get behind me!" a second later, something whizzed past her face and embed itself into the wood of the stall behind them. Hanako let out a shrill scream, which led the people into a panic.

The adversary came quick, running at him with his sword outstretched. Zhou Yu drew, cutting the soft stomach tissue. He withdrew his sword and the man, innards and all, fell to the ground in a sea of blood. He turned to the young woman, who had fallen to the ground behind him.

"Are you alright?" She nodded, her brown hair bun bobbing. As Zhou Yu helped her too her feet he couldn't help but wonder what made people suddenly come after her and her household. Could it be that Lord Yamato's lands were that highly sought after?

Then he noticed that the streets were suddenly deserted. He knew that everyone, even shop keepers wouldn't leave because of spilt blood. People loved excitement, so what made them...! "Get down!" He shouted, knocking aside an arrow as it whistled towards them. Hanako sunk to the ground, shivering with fright.

The men came from every direction, some carried swords, a few carried spears, and some knives. They surrounded them, each one grim and silent. Zhou Yu suddenly felt the ground cave beneath him, and a sensation of deja vu overwhelmed him. The enemy came suddenly, and Zhou Yu, still half dazed, moved like the wind itself, sword faster than anything the thugs had ever seen before. He dodged a spear, slashed the back of a swords man, moved the sword in a semi circle as he cut away his foes, performing what seemed to be some sort of dance, a deathly dance of death. Something his muscles did on their own, 'muscle memory,' even though he had no memory, his muscles did, and perhaps that is why he moved so gracefully.

It was done as soon as it had begun, with Zhou Yu standing in the middle of the street, with blood and dirt splattered everywhere. Hanako rose slowly, looking around at all the dead bodies in astonishment. "Yu-san, are you hurt?" Zhou Yu shook his head, and Hanako smiled.

"I challenge you, stranger!" Zhou Yu's head snapped up. A man in armor, carrying a sword stood in the middle of the road. His clothes were finely furnished, and from the loss of hair, Zhou Yu could tell the man was beyond his prime.

"I have no desire to fight you, sir." The old man gave a grave smile.

"Then I shall have to kill the lady," Zhou Yu's dark eyes narrowed. "Good, you accept, now, I am Lord Inosuke, the Lord of these lands."

"I am Yu, servant to Lord Yamato, of the north western sea." He held up his blade, and suddenly, with a quick strike, Inosuke was holding his wounded side. "Don't harm Lady Hanako or her family." The man flinched, bringing up his hand and seeing the blood he smiled.

"Amazing, no one has been able to wound me for years." Where do you come from young man? I've never seen swordsman ship like that before."

Zhou Yu bit his lip, sheathing the sword. "I come from the sea."

The man scowled, but bit back a retort, "Well, anyway, Master Yu, would you like to join me as my chief bodyguard?" Zhou Yu shook his head, looking at Hanako.

"I am body guard for lady Hanako." The man smiled, a sickeningly sweet smile.

"Ah, but, don't you know? I bought you earlier! See?" The man took out a paper with Lord Yamato's seal on it. "Which means that I can do what ever I want with you, and when I buy a slave for as much money as you cost, I expect you to pay me back tenfold. The man licked his lips lustfully, causing an unintentional shiver to go up Zhou Yu's spine.

"No! Lord Yamato would never-!" Hanako started, but was cut off by the man slapping her in the face. Zhou Yu started forward, only to fall to the ground a moment later, abdomen bleeding profusely.

"But Lord Yamato did, you silly little girl." Inosuke snorted, turning to two men behind him. "Collar the man, and make sure he cant escape. After we break him, he will be ready to be my bodyguard, my ultimate one, only a fool would pass up such an opportunity." As they clasped an iron collar on Zhou Yu, he turned to Hanako. "Be sure and thank you lord Yamato, I've never felt such a thrill at breaking someone before."

Tears fell to the dirt as she watched them cart Zhou Yu away, she got to her feet, and followed, before tripping over a dead body and falling to the dirt again. "Yu-San!"

**TBC...**

**I know, the part in japan seems a little graphic, but its all part of the plot, please trust me. Anyway, I just want to express my feelings about school: School sucks. Its boring, and makes me tired. I just wish I could light it on fire, so I'd never have to look at another one. In the expressive words of Zhu Rong: "Burn baby, burn!**


	4. Chapter 4

**The Stranger**

**Thanks for all the reviews! I'm sorry if the time skipping and the obvious lack of a time frame bothers anyone, but honestly, this story is kind of Au, I think I mentioned it, but if I didn't, I'm very sorry. I've edited the bottom of this chapter, so now it's a bit better. Sorry for the trouble! **

**Chapter four: Corruption**

**Five years later...**

**Jiang Ye**

Sun Ce is a jerk.

Sun Shang Xiang decided, tying the bandage a little tighter around her brothers calf, eliciting a string of profanity from the man sitting lopsided on the throne. "Shang Xiang! Come on, knock it off! It's tight enough!" Sun Ce howled over is shoulder as she worked on his wound. In response, she tightened it even more.

Her slender fingers made quick work, tying the bandage so that Sun Ce couldn't loosen it. Then she drew back her arm and punched him, making him yelp with surprise. "Shut up Ce! If you hadn't been fooling around in front of enemy archer, you wouldn't have been wounded! Just think! If you would have just let me come with you, I might have been able to help but no! Mister idiot has to go and almost kill himself!"

Sun Ce almost felt the steam blowing through his ears, "Don't call me that!"

Sun Shang Xiang almost smiled as Sun Ce overturned the tea tray with his ecstatic movements. "Call you what? Mister idiot?" Shang Xiang smiled as her taunt effectively angered her brother into throwing the tea kettle at her head, which she dodged, hearing it crash a few feet behind her.

"Am I interrupting something?" Lu Xun stepped forward, surveying his disgruntled lord and his lord's sister with his golden eyes. He held a large scroll, which was torn and worn from use. Sun Ce shifted his feet to the floor, weight on one hip and favoring his injured leg.

"No your not, miss prissy was just leaving." Sun Shang Xiang shot a glare at her brother.

As she passed by Lu Xun, he heard the unmistakable sound of 'idiot,' then the young strategist flinched to the right as Sun Ce tossed the tea tray after her.

A few moments of awkward silence passed before Lu Xun stepped up and handed Sun Ce the scroll. "What's this?" Sun Ce scowled, unrolling the canvas. Lu Xun resisted the urge to roll his eyes, a habit he gained from Zhou Yu long ago and never quite forgot.

"It's the battle update, sir." Sun Ce groaned at the mention of it and glanced at it with hazel eyes narrowed in suspicion. "But sir, the front lines have been low on moral ever since you got wounded in the battle. May I suggest something?" Sun Ce grunted his permission as his amber eyes raced up and down the scroll. Lu Xun took a deep breath and muttered something very fast. Sun Ce looked up at the strategist with a bemused expression.

"Run that by me again?"

"I suggest that we update with either Cao Cao or Liu Bei, by wedding Lady Sun to one of them." Sun Ce dropped the scroll to the floor and fixed a harsh glare on Lu Xun's timid face.

"Never." Lu Xun felt his breath catch in his throat.

"But my lord, if we don't align with one of them, Wu will perish!"

"I will never ally myself with Cao Cao!" Sun Ce shouted, making Lu Xun stumble back a little. "I'd rather ally myself with a pig!"

"Then wed Lady Sun to Liu Bei my lord!" Lu Xun pressed, hands tightening into fists.

"Why?" Sun Ce huffed. "Why should I when Liu Bei has nothing?"

"He commands the respect of many Sir, and he has many extremely talented officers under him."

"I don't care! Why should we fear Cao Cao?"

Lu Xun took an exasperated breath to calm himself down, "Because he has a vast army and he has targeted us!"

"We can beat Cao Cao any day! I wont yield to that man!"

"If you don't ally with Liu Bei, Wu will die, and so will your dream of uniting China!" Lu Xun said before he could stop himself.

Sun Ce scowled, crossing his arms and leaning back in the chair. "Zhou Yu would never have let this happen."

Lu Xun scowled, "With all due respect, _sir,_ Zhou Yu is not with us any longer to make that decision! And if he were alive," Lu Xun hissed, "I doubt he would do something foolish like you want to do!" Lu Xun turned on his heel in a cloud of anger and made for the door, slamming it behind him, making a dumbfounded Sun Ce flinch as the noise vibrated around the room. After a moment he groaned, and let his head fall back against the arm of the chair.

"What the hell is wrong with me lately!"

**Japan, Shogun fortress**

The chains around his wrists and ankles stung as they tore at his flesh. The iron collar around his neck pained him every time he moved his head. His back was scarred with the markings of many whippings, and a long white scar on his abdomen symbolized his initiation into the cruel slavery. Zhou Yu flinched as the whip cracked, slashing across his already bloody back like hellfire. Lord Inosuke smiled at the small break on the handsome man's iron mask, and dropped the whip.

He took hold of Zhou Yu's hair, and the dark haired man instantly started struggling, thrashing with his arms and legs. Inosuke smirked and looked Zhou Yu in the eye. "You are my slave, so if you want to keep your pathetic existence, I suggest that you stop." Zhou Yu spat blood at him, and the old man tossed him to the ground, standing over him with a sickening grin as he wiped his face.

"Hold him down!" He growled at the men in the room, and they hurried to comply. Inosuke then took hold of the hot brand and kicked Zhou Yu over onto his back. "I paid good money for you, slave, and I would never want your talent and beauty to go to waste." The man thrust the hot iron into Zhou Yu's chest, right above his heart. Screams tore from Zhou Yu's wounded throat like a caged bird released into the wild.

Inosuke scowled with disappointment when Zhou Yu's delicious whimpers came to an end, and he nudged the handsome mans face with his foot. Then, with a sickening grin, he took a vial of a black substance from his desk drawer. He knelt beside his slave and poured the liquid into a needle. He stuck it into Zhou Yu's chest, right in the middle of the brand, and emptied its contents into him. "Throw him in the whore's chamber's. He'll be worth more money to me there I think."

The brothel girls screamed with fright as the body was tossed into their room. However, as the door slammed shut, one of the women came forward, kneeling at his side. "This man need's help!" She stemmed the bleeding from his wound with her kimono sleeve. "Quick! Get water!"

xXx

Zhou Yu moaned as he came too, a few days later. His eyes blinked open, and he shuddered with pain. "Where...where am I?" bandages covered his torso, and a great burning pain was covering him in waves.

"Inosuke's brothel. He must have beat you bad, you were out for three days." The world spun around Zhou Yu as he sat up. His vision was blurry and his hearing was weak. "What's wrong with me?" He managed to get to choke out of his swollen mouth.

"Inosuke poisoned you, right in the middle of that brand. You're arteries are still black around it." The woman sighed. "He put you in this brothel, probably because he wants to fuck you, alright? Don't look at me like that, he's done it before. My question is, why did he hurt you so much?" Zhou Yu noticed that the woman was wearing her obi backwards, so that the knot was in the front.

"Are you a prostitute?" She swung her long hair around to her back and smiled.

"You are avoiding my question, but yes, I am."

He managed to stand up despite the pain he felt, "Why are you kind to me? Men only hurt you."

The woman smiled and placed a gentle hand under his chin, then she leaned in and kissed him. "You have an innocence about you, and yet, there's something mysterious as well. Do you know who you were born as?" As the stunned Yu shook his head, she smiled bitterly. "You movements suggest that." She ran a gentle hand over the bandages on his chest, gently tracing the brand marks. "The brand will never go away." Zhou Yu grabbed her hands to stop her.

"What is the brand of?"

"You are a master of avoiding the question I asked earlier," but she smiled slightly, pulling off the bandage. She scrutinized it for a moment. "It says 'Houshi' or star. He must have taken a great liking to you." she re-attached the bandage. "Now, answer my question."

"Can I trust you?"

"Did I not just care for you and dress your wounds? If I wanted you dead I would have used my suntetsu on you long ago." Zhou Yu took a breath and considered her a moment before answering.

"I overheard his plans to kill Empress Himiko." The woman gave an noise of recognition.

"Yes, I have heard his idiotic whispers to kill us all. He's a crazy old man." The woman poured herself some tea. Then she looked up at the handsome man with a coy smirk. "Can I interest you in some play? It looks like you haven't done so for ages, it would be my pleasure to give a man more beautiful than I such pleasure."

Zhou Yu made a noise in his throat that sounded like he couldn't quite get his words out. "No, I'm afraid I must decline, please forgive me." The woman scoffed her disappointment.

"There's a door to the right that leads to the roof. Escape that way, and find a way to kill this man, before he kills you himself." Zhou Yu nodded and made for the said exit, determined to get away. Then he turned and bowed to the woman.

"I will, thank-you for your kindness. I will never forget it."

"Just go." The woman watched as he slipped out the door into the night. Zhou Yu snuck out the small door to the roof. Balancing carefully, he ran across the brothel roof and leapt to the ground. His body shuddered as he impacted the ground, but his managed to get his pain filled feet to move. A day later, he knocked on the door to Hanako's home.

"Yu-san!" Hanako cried, running and catching the man before the fell to the ground in weariness. A lot had changed for her. She was now the keeper of the estate, as Lord Yamato and his wife had disappeared a few years after Yu was taken. Hanako was a mother now, and a wife. She had two twins, and her husband worked for Himiko. He was an expert on the Chinese language. "I thought I'd never see you again!" Yu smiled, before a wave of pain made it fade.

"Doctor..." He managed to slip out, before he fainted, right there in the arms of his sworn sister and friend.

xXx

"This poison comes from China. If you want to save yourself from pain, you have to go there." the doctor said, binding Zhou Yu's bandages across the man's chest. "You must be in the Lord's bad graces.

Zhou Yu clenched his fists, "I am going to kill Inosuke, he will not let this country suffer to his every whim, I'll make sure of it." His brown eyes blazed with fury and determination.

The doctor sighed, seeing that his patient was serious. "Then you'll need a powerful weapon. I've heard tell of a sword in China that can cut through anything. It's called the Ancient's Sword, in the land called Wu. If you want to kill Inosuke, I would get that weapon." Zhou Yu massaged his newly freed wrists, a plan slowly coming to light in Zhou Yu's mind.

"I take that to heart. Thank you doctor," He murmured destractedly.

**TBC...**

**I shall try updating every weekend if possible. Thank you so much for reading and I hoped you liked this somewhat gory chapter. Please review if you can!**


	5. Chapter 5

**The Stranger**

**Thanks so much for the reviews! Thank you everyone! You all made me so glad! **

**Chapter Five: Man From the Sea**

**One year later**

Zhou Yu frowned and pulled the metal mask over his face, gazing out at the Jiang Ye fortress with expert eyes. His outfit was made out of the blackest cloth, dark as the shadows, and light as a feather. He had been the head of the resistance against Inosuke for a whole year, gathering members and foiling every plot that pig tried against Himiko.

Hanako's family was a great help. She provided shelter for the defenseless harmed by the corrupt official, and her husband was deep within the Empresses council. Finally they were ready, except for one thing: The ancients sword.

His outward mission was to get the sword and cut Inosuke's head off. But his most personal reasons were important to him. He was going to try and find as much as he could about Wu, and no matter what, he was going to get the cure to the damn torture poison.

And now, he was prepared. He was a one man army in Japan. He took down all of Inosuke's special forces with a few swipes of his sword. The only thing was, he had no idea where he learned his skills, or how. His dreams were becoming clearer, and they stuck in his mind like clues. They tormented his thoughts daily, dreams that gave clues to his mysterious past, and yet confused him even more.

He sighed, tying his sash a bit tighter and glancing around with his somewhat unreliable eyes. After assuring himself that no one could see him, he dropped out of the tree that was serving as his watch and stealthily crept inside a window on the first floor.

The palace was immersed in darkness, yet somehow Zhou Yu felt a strange familiarity with this place, like he had been there before...the man shook his head and continued quietly down the hall.

He slid open a door, and froze. On the bed, immersed in white sheets, was the most beautiful person he had ever seen. He slipped closer, all the way to the edge of the bed. His eyes traveled unabashed down her slender form, tangled in covers and bathed in moonlight. A porcelain picture of exquisite beauty, a goddess of the moon... "Xiao..." He breathed, and all at once, he realized that somehow, that he knew her...and suddenly, he didn't want to leave. He wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed with this strange woman and love her like she deserved to be loved...

Then he realized that her eyes were open...open and staring at him with quiet recognition dawning in her face. "Yu!" He stumbled back into the shadows, his heart beating in his ears like a large yamato drum. "Wait!" She sat up, her long brown hair tumbling about her shoulders, her words were spoken softly, but he heard them, and his pulse quickened. Slipping out of the room of the woman, he took off down the hall, slipping into the window of a grand room.

And all at once the nightmare became total hell.

He found the sword, the very one that came for...the very one that was going to save Japan from corruption, but he found so much more than that.

He gasped in pain, for right after he took the sword of blue flames from the mantle, a foot slammed into him and knocked him back.

There stood a man with a cocky grin and a goatee. Messy brown hair in a ponytail and blazing hazel eyes was all he could see before he was slammed in the chest with a well placed kick. "C'mon you thief, if you're gonna have the guts to steal from The Little Conqueror, the least you could do is face me in a duel!"

Zhou Yu scowled, he did not have time for this. Already his strength was failing him from all the mental exhaustion this place was bringing him and the physical strain of the day. He grit his teeth, and readied the unfamiliar, yet at the same time strangely familiar weight of the Ancients Sword. "Challenge accepted..." He said softly, and the man in front of him grinned, holding up two iron Tonfa.

The stare down ended, and the man jumped into action, his energy overflowing into every move. Zhou Yu felt an overwhelming sense of Deja Vu again, as if he knew every move the man was going to make before he could. However...

Sun Ce leapt up, aiming a flying kick at the masked stranger, only to find his foot blocked by the gloved hand of the man. He landed on the ground and twisted, knocking over his desk with a big crash in the process. Leaping back to his feet, he slammed his Tonfa forward, then with a quick twist, he slammed the stranger flying, and the man fell against the door, blowing the door off its hinges and almost flying off the edge of the balcony. The masked man flipped forward and landed on the floor with a dull 'thump.' Sun Ce realized that the man was exhausted and gave a grin.

Suddenly, in a flurry of white and orange, Xiao Qiao's familiar fans flew out of no where and knocked the mask off the mans face. Sun Ce's breath halted in his throat, and his tonfa fell to the ground with a clatter, followed by their owners knee's.

"...Yu!" His voice sounded with disbelief, as he took in the mans familiar face...the face that he thought was dead. Zhou Yu stared at him...and then, all at once, he fainted.

xXx

"I don't believe it!" Shang Xiang cried, staring at the pale faced man on the bed. "You said his name, and just dropped!" Sun Ce nodded, still staring at the man in disbelief. There were more people here earlier, but now there was only Xiao, Da, Shang Xiang and himself. The doctor kicked everyone else out, but couldn't kick them out, as they were royalty...and Sun Ce kept glaring at him every time he opened his mouth for a suggestion.

"Shang Xiang, go help Da..." He muttered distractedly. Shang Xiang scowled.

"No! You help Da! I'm sick of you always giving me orders!"

"Shang Xiang! Help Da with the antidote!" Sun Ce growled, irritated at the interference in thoughts.

"SEXIST!" Shang Xiang howled, making everyone in the hospital wing stare. "Sun Ce is SEXIST!"

"SHANG XIANG SHUT UP!" Sun Ce cried, getting ready to toss something at his sister. Then they all heard it...the groan from the bed.

"Zhou Yu!" Xiao Qiao cried, grasping the man's cold hand in hers.

Zhou Yu blinked awake and saw the angel that he had seen last night bending over him. His hand felt warm, warmer than it had in a long time. The woman beamed at him, "Are you okay now, Zhou Yu?"

"...Who are you?" He had to ask, but immediately he wished that he could stuff the words back into his mouth. The look the girl gave him was so utterly heartbreaking that he could barely stand it. Tears started to run down her cheeks. He lifted a pale hand, and with a frown, touched them. "Why are you crying?"

The man he fought before he passed out appeared above him with a shocked yet horrified look on his face, "Yu...do you not remember us?"

"Yu...that's my name..."He whispered, feeling weak, like something was sapping all of his strength from within.

"Yes...you are Zhou Yu, you remember, don't you?"

"Is this Wu?" Zhou Yu asked, dropping his hand beside him on the bed.

"Yes."

"Good," and he dropped into unconsciousness again.

**TBC...**

**Sorry this chapters so short! But I really hope you like it nonetheless...please review! **


	6. Chapter 6

**The Stranger**

**Thanks so much everyone! I'm sorry this chapter is so late! I had massive writers block, but I think this chapter turned out okay..at least I hope so! **

**Chapter 7: Love Everlasting**

Zhou Yu pulled at the high collar on his robes. It really was uncomfortable. How was he supposed to even MOVE in the long flowing robe? The material may have been red and white silk, but that did not help the fact that all of his movements were stunted by the long garments. Perhaps this is what a woman felt like in a kimono? He shifted on the stone bench he sat under, looking around the exquisite garden with amazement. Not even Lord Yamato had kept a garden as beautiful as this!

His mind turned to the problem in Japan. Should he really be dallying here when he had a country to save? What of Hanako, his sworn sister? He could not leave her and her family in the jaws of that tiger! He reached out his hand and caught a peach blossom that had come loose in the wind. He could not leave his home just because of his own personal vendetta for his past. It was cruel, and he considered himself as horrible as Inosuke for even considering such a thing.

He turned at the sound of light footsteps and the rustle of silk garments. Xiao Qiao, the one who claimed to be his wife, took a seat next to him on the bench and stared at the flower in his hands. She smiled at the flower, twirling her hair around her finger. "You know, before you left, you told me that the peach flower fit me better than any other type of flower?" Zhou Yu gave a pained smile. "You said the flowers bright colors and radiant beauty reminded you of me." She touched the petals softly, feeling the silky texture with her porcelain hands.

"I am reminded of you when I see this flower," Zhou Yu said, placing the flower in her hands. "But it is not because of its beauty or brightness." He lifted her chin gently to look in her eyes. "Its because of all the flowers in the tree, it was the only one who had the courage to go with the wind." Xiao Qiao blushed and looked down at the flower.

"You are the same, yet you are different from my Zhou Yu..." She hesitated, then grasped his forearm with a dainty hand. "Are you sure that you cannot remember anything of your time with us?"

"No, I am sorry," He watched as her face braced in effort not to cry. "I can not remember anything that makes sense. The images I can remember from dreams or other happenings have all blurred together, and I cannot distinguish one from another." Xiao stood up, the silk of her dress rustling. She grabbed his arm with sudden purpose, pulling on him as she ran to the stable.

"I'm going to take you swimming Zhou Yu." His eyes widened in surprise.

"Swimming?" She tugged him into the stable, as a stable hand readied her mare.

"Yep!" She tied back her sleeves and leapt onto the horse when it was ready, grasping the reigns. Zhou Yu got on behind her hesitatingly. "I'm taking you to our secret spot! But don't tell Da, she would never get over how improper it is." She snapped the reins and her steed, Voyaging moon, took off. Xiao Qiao handled the brown steed with practiced grace, alarming Zhou Yu slightly. Had this girl been like this when he originally married her? Or had she changed when he disappeared? He couldn't help but wonder what made him fall in love with her, although he was starting to feel rather odd towards her himself.

He grabbed onto her waist in alarm as she turned sharply through a mass of long vines along the road. He gasped at the sight before him. A waterfall emptied into a pool that stretched beneath them, sparkling from the sunlight that reached through the vines. They dismounted and stripped the mare of her burdens, and with a toss of her mane, she trotted to a patch of grass. Xiao Qiao pulled off her dress with unabashed movements, leaving her shoes and socks on a dry rock. Her white silk slip shone as she pulled her hair ornaments out and undid the braid that held her long hair.

With a squeal of delight, she took a running leap and jumped into the pool, the slip dancing behind her. Zhou Yu watched the water apprehensively, unconsciously holding an apprehensive breath. When she surfaced he sighed, taking a seat on the rocks and pulling off his shoes and socks. "Come on Yu! Hurry up!" Xiao Qiao yelled, beaming. "It's a little cold, but I'm sure you can handle it!" He pulled off the stuffy robes, leaving nothing but his pants on and took a running leap into the water.

_Pain shot up and down his arm, rocked from the constant swirling of the waves. Blinded by the constant sea water he struggled to stay afloat, although he was unsure if he was above water, or below. _He shot to the surface, choking on water. Xiao Qiao swam over to him worried look clouding her features as he choked.

"Are you alright?" He choked something out in the foreign tongue, before he realized what he had done.

"I am alright." His voice sounded choppy and unrefined as he mulled over what had just happened. It was a memory, he was positive. Perhaps it was of how he came to Japan in the first place. "Thank you Xiao Qiao, for showing me this place." He gave her a charming smile.

Xiao Qiao blushed and spun in a circle, "Hurray! Zhou Yu smiled at me!" She laughed happily as birds left their nests in surprise at the loud noise. His smile turned into a chuckle, and before he could stop himself, he leaned forward and placed a kiss on Xiao's cheek.

Perhaps he could stay here a bit longer. At least until the storm season lets up. After all, with the resistance against Inosuke, Zhou Yu was confident that he would never harm Empress Himiko.

**TBC...**

**Yes its short. But, its better than nothing, right? Please review if you have time! Sorry for the grammar mistakes, I didn't have time to revise it this time. I apologize if I have offended anyone by that. And PLEASE check out my oneshot, 'Accident' if you have time. It's a Zhou Yu/Sun Ce (or the other way around if it matters to you) and I worked really hard on it. So if you have time, please read and review the little one shot. **


	7. Chapter 7

**The Stranger**

**Thank you for all your reviews! So sorry for the super late update! I'm such a bad author! Over a month...:throws self in river:**

**Chapter 7: Duty**

Zhou Yu looked up as a knock sounded on his door. He finished binding the sash on his robe just as Sun Ce opened the door and poked a smiling head through. "Hey, how was your night?" He bounded into the room, bouncing on the balls of his feet with excitement.

"It was as good as every other." The dark haired man answered, rubbing the sleep from his exhausted eyes. He had another one of those dreams, and as usual, it was fading from his desperate grasp before he could decipher it's meaning.

Sun Ce looked his sworn brother over carefully with his hazel eyes and took a step towards the door, "Come on, let's get some practice in before breakfast."

Zhou Yu brushed strands of hair out of his eyes, looking at the man in front of him quizzically. "Practice?"

"Yeah, you know, a duel with weapons?" A look of acknowledgment dawned on Zhou Yu's face, so Sun Ce continued, smiling. "And I figured, since you were feeling better now that the poison is all gone, we could spar!"

Zhou Yu smiled a bit sheepishly, "All right, but I can assure you that I am not as good as could be." Sun Ce waved an unconcerned hand and led his friend down to the weapons shed.

"Hey, if you're gonna be a push over, it's just one more mark for my stick!" He smirked, digging out his practice Tonfa from a pile.

"Your stick?" He looked at the door frame that Sun Ce pointed to quizzically. There were a few gashes in the wood, but not too many.

"Whenever one of us won, we'd always mark it with a gash. You've been ahead of me by one all these years, and today I'm going to pass you up, especially since you don't plan on giving it your all!" The man cracked his knuckles easily. "Yeah, lets go!" He tossed Zhou Yu a practice sword and they faced each other on the field.

Zhou Yu bowed to Sun Ce politely and stood to one side, Holding the sword down with his hands, until it almost touched the ground next to his back leg. Sun Ce couldn't help but give a laugh.

"What? Can't you face your opponent honestly? Whatever, enough talk, lets go!" He gave a smirk and the next second Zhou Yu felt his mind abandon his body. He blocked Sun Ce's erratic moves with a sort of mechanical state, going by pure instinct. He swung out in an well mastered stroke. His opponent dodged with a Tonfa, and the wood connected with a dull 'TOK' noise. Seconds later he was right on top of his opponent, sword glinting with power as he stabbed down with a quick jab. Sun Ce rolled out of the way and the sword hit the soft ground with a powerful stroke. Sun Ce stuck one Tonfa in the ground and rotated himself around, launching himself at his opponent with a well placed kick. Zhou Yu was thrown into the air, but with a twist, he landed back on the ground. Barely stopping for breath he attacked again, charging his foe.

Sun Ce charged as well, and they met in a deadlock in the center. Zhou Yu's limbs screamed on impact. His limbs burned, and he soon felt the hard ground beneath his back. "Give?" Sun Ce asked with a smirk, standing over Zhou Yu, holding his Tonfa ready. Zhou Yu flipped backwards over the ground and gained his feet. Dodging a hit from Sun Ce, he overbalanced and barely managed to keep his feet by flipping over his hand and managing to keep in front of his adversary.

Time started to pass by, like a blur of faces, moves, and close calls. He was starting to wonder if he was in the past or present, when Sun Ce knocked the sword out of his hands before the young conqueror fell inter the garden pond. Zhou Yu, snapped out of his daze, looked around, noticing that the high sun in the sky meant that it was almost noon. Helping the dripping Lord out of the pond, they compromised a draw, Sun Ce allowed half a dash on his frame, and put a gash on Zhou Yu's as well.

"Next time, I'll win," Zhou Yu was taken aback by the pure determination of Sun Ce's words. Never had he felt the power of will so strong as it was in the Wu lord's voice. He replaced his practice sword and knelt on the ground in one solid movement. The crisis in Japan flooded his thoughts, and he couldn't help but tear at his brain as to how to get back there.

"My lord. I fear I have wasted far to much time than I should have here. I need to return to Nihon and finish what I have started. (Nihon: Japanese name for Japan.) He bowed his head, letting his silky dark hair fall over his face, and dared not to look up, afraid of what he'd see. His head reeled suddenly, a flash of him looking at the same floorboards, and pledging himself to the same feet. He started to his feet, and jumped back on instinct, colliding with the rack behind him. It wobbled dangerously and toppled forward, knocking weapons out of there positions.

The hand reached out and pushed him out of the way just before the whole weapon rack toppled on top of them. He collided into the far wall, and tripped over a helmet that had been laying on the floor. He saw the knife seconds before it hit him. Swinging his hand out, he knocked it aside, wincing as it imbedded itself into his leg. The shelf collided with the ground a second later. Zhou Yu let out a strangled yell as Sun Ce's form disappeared under the toppling structure.

"Lord Sun Ce?!" He gasped, pulling the knife out of his leg with a wince. He scrambled to lift the structure; slipping as his injured leg shuddered under the added weight, shooting sparks of pain into Zhou Yu's brain.

"Hey Yu, you're bleeding, are you okay?" Sun Ce's voice sounded from behind him, and suddenly the lifting of the shelf became so much easier. Zhou Yu whirled as soon as the shelf was upright, and saw Sun Ce standing there uninjured save for the bruises that he had received during their practice.

"I thought you were under the shelf," Zhou Yu murmured, brushing a hand through his dark hair in relief. Sun Ce gave a quick smirk, looking at the weapons littering the floor.

"Yeah, I thought so to...at first...But I was just beyond the reach...although I did stub my toe..." He gave the dark haired man a 'pity me' look. Zhou Yu smiled. "Perhaps we should have it looked at then."

Sun Ce let the face drop and clambered over the weapons to the door, helping Zhou Yu to do the same. "Sheesh... you sure are different from how you used to be. The other you would have just rolled his eyes or something and stalked away." The chestnut haired man led him into the castle to get his would looked at.

Zhou Yu fell into step a few feet behind him, the words 'other you' chiming in his ears like Gan Ning's bells. "Oh and Yu," Sun Ce turned around and lifted Zhou Yu's head up until they shared eye contact. "If going back is what you need to do, then you should go back." The fingers fell, and Zhou Yu looked over to the side, gripping the sides of his sleeves.

"Thank-you my lord." A sudden arm around his shoulders made him crumple.

"But I'm going with you of course!" Sun Ce beamed, giving a wink. Zhou Yu's stomach jolted.

"No, you have a kingdom to look after!" Sun Ce waved an untroubled hand.

"I trust my friends and family to keep it safe for half a year." Sun Ce gripped Zhou Yu tighter. "I just want to see you again, so I'm going with you to make sure you come back."

xXx

Zhou Yu's leg still throbbed as they left the country of Wu, galloping towards the sea at high speeds. The ancients sword was strapped to his waist, and a man that would help was beside him. The moon was rising and the waters shined from its illumination. The waters that would carry him back to the thing that he had to accomplish before it was too late.

The country he had to save, and the people he loved...all depended on him returning to them. Debts he had to fulfill before he could return back to China.

_Before he could find his past, he had to save a future._

**TBC...**

**The endings weird I know, and its short yes. But its all I could do. They're finally moving forward tho! And this time Sun Ce is with him! **

**Please review!!!**


	8. Chapter 8

**The Stranger**

**Chapter 8: The beginning of the end**

They had one shot. One shot before all their hard work went down the tubes. Zhou Yu knew this very well. He knew it better than anyone else. He also knew that if they failed, Wu would be without a ruler. He looked at the man that stood beside him and smirked, "Well Ce, we have this one chance at victory. Please do not blunder."

Sun Ce smirked, "Hey, no need to worry about me, just do what you do and we'll get that pig." Zhou Yu tossed the torch he had been holding to the garden floor.

"It is a shame to waste such a beautiful garden. However, such a shame that so many men had to die as well." Zhou Yu watched as the sakura tree burned beside him. Taking hold of the sword at his side, he leapt to the roof of the Inosuke manor. "Ce! Move!"

"You got it!" Sun Ce yelled, tossing his torch to the opposite side of the garden. Zhou Yu heard the screams of servants as they noticed the fire surrounding the manor. They had set torches all around the manor. There would be absolutely no escape for Inosuke. Only the servants door was left alone.

This time, all the pain, all the grief that this man had done to Hanako, her family, and all of Zhou Yu's men would be avenged.His memories may have almost all returned, but that did not mean a thing. He would kill Inosuke for what that tyrant had done.

His eyes blazed with the memory of what had happened before. What he saw when he returned from China.

xXx

Sun Ce blinked at the house in front of him. "Hey Yu, what's with the wall?" He asked, pointing at the walls that surrounded each and every dwelling. Zhou Yu smiled politely.

"They are for blocking out the force of the storms they get in this country. They get large typhoons every year. In some places, the water come's all they way up to the walls." He put his hand on the dry rock and felt the warmth seep into his hand. "Sometimes they help, and sometimes they do not."

Sun Ce sighed, shifting his feet impatiently. He was clad in a kimono robe tied around his waist with a sword man's pants on. His long hair hung in its customary ponytail. He wore a pair of Japanese sandals on his feet. "Come on, let's go, I'm glad that we're finally off that boat, but sheesh, you think you could speed things up?"

I'm sorry my lord, I was just thinking," He led Sun Ce to the front door of Hanako's home. And stopped abruptly, forcing the Little Conqueror to walk into him. A red mark trailed down to the ground. Zhou Yu looked at it, slightly confused. When he looked at the house, he noticed an eerie silence surrounding the house. His breath caught in his throat at the pure and utter silence of the place. Not a sound could be heard. He noticed then, that the gardens, usually so well kept by Hanako, had weed's overgrowing the flower beds and the vegetation invaded the ponds. The small well was silent, making no sound.

He dashed forward, disturbing the eerie peace of the household. "Sun Ce stay where you are!**" **Zhou Yu cried, tossing open the sliding paper door. He dashed forward, barely registering that his shoes had come off. The entrance room was empty, the hall was devoid of life...and then he saw it.

The pale hand extended out from a hole in the paper door. The frame work was tainted red. He carefully slid the door open, afraid to look at what he would see. When he gained the courage to glance into the room, he gave a horrible gasp and fell against the wall behind him.

Hanako's skin was deathly white. Her Kimono was soaked with blood, and a slight dribble of blood ran from her mouth to her chin. Her eyes were blank and sunken from death. Her brown hair flowed freely on the floor, mixed with blood. Her children and husband lay not far from her, in much the same position. Yu crawled forward and stretched out a shaking hand. Her skin felt smooth as glass. The picture of innocent beauty, even in death. The one he had suffered to protect for so long had met her death.

As he held her in his arms, a note fell out of her kimono sleeve. Picking it up, he unfolded it and scanned the contents. The ink was a deep red that flaked at his touch.

_Boy, I know that you shall find your note. I leave it in Miss Hanako's care, and I know it will reach you safely. After all, who would dare to enter a house that I have marked with death other than you? It was unwise of you to leave on that journey. Do not bother to look for you men, I have killed them as well as this whore. She was very fine in bed, and I can assure you that had I not had to end her life, she would have made a very fine addition to my collection, had she not been so mouthy. Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention, I refuse to be out done by a simple slave. I trust that you have realized by now that I filled the air of the house with a poisonous mixture. It will kill you in a matter of hours, should you not decide to see me for the cure. Return to me my little no name pet. I still have to break you remember! Oh, and you have about fourteen hours to reclaim your life. Signed, master_

Dammit! He thought, cursing bitterly. Lying Hanako onto the floor gently, he halted as something else fell out of her sleeve. He picked it up and looked at it carefully. It was a faded red head band with a symbol on it. He recognized it was the symbol of love in sloppy characters. His mind went blank as a sudden surge of pain slammed against his temple. He gasped, feeling the familiar fabric between his fingers.

Xiao Qiao...

"_Xiao really, you needn't make this for me..." He sighed, brushing his dark bangs out of his eyes. His wife looked up at him stubbornly from where she was adjusting the red cloth carefully._

"_Well too late for that Yu! I've already made it!" She pushed the headband against his pale forehead, tying it behind his head. "Besides! You keep on having to knock your bangs out of your eyes! This way, you will be able to see without hair in your face!" She stepped back, surveying her work carefully. She leaned up to make a quick adjustment. _

_As her hand brushed passed his nose he caught the scent of peach blossoms. He grasped her hand gently with his own and placed a kiss over top of it. Xiao Qiao blushed, dropping her other hand from its work with the headband. "What was that for?" She asked, wrapping her arms around his neck and sitting herself on his lap. _

_He smiled, lightly brushing her lips with a kiss. "That was a thank-you, my love." He lifted her easily with his strong arms and stood, going over to the window. For a moment they gazed at the night sky together, admiring the ageless beauty. The moon shone brightly overhead, beckoning to them. _

"_Yu, do you think that someday people could go to the moon?" Xiao asked, laying her head on his shoulder. He looked at her with surprise for a moment. "It doesn't seem that far away, almost as if you could just reach out and grab it!" She lifted her arms and stretched her delicate fingers towards the glowing orb in the sky. _

"_Some thing's are farther away than they appear Xiao." Zhou Yu explained sagely. "But perhaps someday, when man has learned enough, they will have the technology to go to the moon." _

"_I want to go there," Xiao whispered tiredly. Zhou Yu lay her down on the bed gently. He smiled slightly and got into bed beside her. Wrapping his arms around her waist he nuzzled her hair gently with his face. _

"_I'm doubt man will make it to the moon in our lifetime Xiao." _

_She yawned tiredly, leaning into the warmth of her husbands chest. "But I can still dream, can't I Yu?"_

"_Of course you can," He gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. "Now sleep, or you will never awake in the morning." _

"_Okay."_

Zhou Yu coughed, feeling the poison in his lungs. He staggered to his feet, only to fall again as another memory invaded his mind.

And then another, a memory which he would have desired to forget.

"_So you'd rather choose the Sun house hold to honor than your own?!" Master Zhou cried to a young Zhou Yu. Zhou Yu winced as the man's fingers shoved him against the wall of the manor. "You would die for them, but when it comes to your own family, you want nothing to do with them?!" Zhou Yu winced as a rough hand streaked across his cheek, knocking the side of his head against the wooden wall. _

_He crumbled to the ground at the force of the blow, blinking stars out of his vision. "Father.." He choked as the man grabbed his collar and shook hard. Anger flashed in his dark eyes and he slapped his father's hand away. "That's enough. This is disgraceful father." He glowered at the man, trying to reign in his anger. "You wonder why I rather spend my time with the Sun family?" He took a step forward, glowering into his fathers grey eyes. "Because I have never lived up to the expectations." _

"_Get out." The order came curt and rough from his father's mouth. Zhou Yu felt his breath stall in his throat. "I said get out of my house boy." The master of the house hold landed a blow to his eldest son's abdomen and knocked him to the ground. "I disown you from all ties that you have ever had to the Zhou family. I never want to see your face again." _

He snapped out of the trance and ran through the household with legs that shook terribly. His lungs gasped with the poison that filled the air. He fell through the open door, relieved to see that Sun Ce was still standing there, listening for once. "I'm impressed Ce, you actually listened to me for once." He leaned against the doorframe, panting slightly. His hand gripped the note and the headband securely. He took in a breath of fresh air and immediately felt the reaction to the poison in his lungs. He dropped to his knees and choked, eyes widening as blood dripped down from his mouth.

"Yu?" Sun Ce cried, rushing forward in alarm. Zhou Yu stopped him with a harsh glare.

"Don't come near the house!" He snarled, and Sun Ce backed off in alarm. Zhou Yu wiped the blood out of his mouth with a cringe. "There's a poison in there, if you inhale it you will die."

"What?!" The Sun lord cried, looking at his friend astonished. "But that means–" Zhou Yu hook his head.

"We have approximately fourteen hours, possibly less, to secure Inosuke and an antidote if there is one." Zhou Yu walked up to Sun Ce calmly. "It's been a long time Sun Ce, but finally I can look at you knowing most of what took place before the storm." A smile graced Sun Ce's face at those words. "And all I can say is..." He paused.

"What?" Sun Ce asked eagerly, overjoyed.

"That you are an idiot." Zhou Yu sighed, turning away from his friend. "Haven't I told you that your kingdom is far more important than me?"

Sun Ce frowned, "But Yu, haven't I told you? I can't live without you around, and I didn't know if you were coming back!"

Zhou Yu sighed, "Selfish as ever I suppose..." He clutched the headband tightly in his hand. "Then again, so am I."

"What are you talking about Yu?" Sun Ce asked, stepping in front of him with a puzzled look. The look Zhou Yu gave him was full of hurt.

"They're all dead..." He whispered, "Hanako, her family, my men..." He heaved a shallow sigh of despair, "All of them..."

"**What?" **Sun Ce cried with alarm.

"Inosuke killed them all." Zhou Yu stepped towards the door.

"No way..." Sun Ce's eyes widened with disbelief as Zhou Yu took out the fire box and light a pile of dry weeds.

Stepping up to Hanako's home, he light the shoji (paper) doors, then he threw it up to the top of the house and backed away, watching memories burn. When he turned back to Sun Ce, the man felt chills run up his spine.

A blood lust shone through Zhou Yu's dark eyes, burning eyes that made Sun Ce quiver. Eyes filled with rage and sorrow.

Zhou Yu's voice spoke harsh and cold over the burning house behind him. "I will kill Inosuke for what he has done."

**TBC...**

**Yeah, this chapters one giant flashback thinger. I hope no one got too confused. Thanks for reading! Please review! **


	9. Chapter 9

**The Stranger**

**Thanks for Everyone's support! THANK YOU SO MUCH!**

**Chapter 9: Oath**

"_I swear to you, Sun Ce, that no matter what the danger, no matter what the risk...**I will help you accomplish your dream.**" Outside the weapons shack two young friends stood in the rain fell hard and fast against the ground. A young Zhou Yu looked up from where he had been kneeling at Sun Ce's feet and gave a smirk. "I shall see to it that your dream is accomplished Ce, and I give you my undying loyalty until my very last breath." His black hair had almost totally come out of the ponytail, and dirt had smudged across his face from the sparing match he had dominated in earlier, and he had a large gash in his white shirt from Sun Ce's practice sword, but his dark eyes shone with sincerity and Sun Ce accepted it with that laughing way he had. _

Sun Ce flicked his wrist, sending a wave of fire from his torch onto the guards in front of him. Grimly, he kicked them back and sent them screaming for mercy off the side of the castle. Sun Ce ran a hand through his hair and grinned, launching himself at the fresh enemy soldiers with his Tonfa in hand. He knew that Zhou Yu would return to China with him, and now that he had received his memories back, the Little Conqueror knew that he had Zhou Yu's undying loyalty. "Damnit!" He shouted at the soldiers in front of him, "Get outta' my face! I have something that I have to do!"

xXx

"What do you mean "gone"?!" Xiao Qiao cried, grasping Sun Shang Xiang's arm as the princess of Wu tried to leave. Having just returned from an emergency trip to her fathers home, she had expected to see Zhou Yu, memories or no, but instead she returned with the court in chaos and Zhou Yu missing. Shang Xiang wrenched her hand out of her friend's grip.

"I mean just what I said. Zhou Yu disappeared almost right after you left. And he took my brother with him." Shang Xiang clenched her fist so tightly that her knuckles turned white. "And with brother gone, the court is in shambles. Quan has been raised to Temporary Lord of Wu, and already is trying to wed me to Liu Bei to make an alliance. Its almost as if they predicted that Ce would leave." The short haired brunette slammed her hand against the bed. "Damn them all." Xiao Qiao sat delicately next to her friend as Shang Xiang's shoulders began to shake. "Damn it! I want to choose my own destiny!"

"Shang Xiang..." Xiao whispered enveloping her friend in a hug. "Sometimes, even though it seems like we are just puppets, the people we love more than anything have to do things that they don't want to do, because they know that it will hurt us, but...in the long span of things...it will all work out if its supposed to." Xiao smiled, "At least, that's what Zhou Yu used to say..."

"And how would he know? He's never had to give up anything." Shang Xiang muttered bitterly into her friends shoulder. Xiao Qiao tensed, but didn't say anything in return. The princess of Wu sighed bitterly. "I'm sorry, I just want brother to come back quickly." She stood and wiped her face free of tears. She smiled at Xiao, "I'm sorry, You're probably tired from your journey. I'll leave you alone now to rest." She pulled the door open and exited. Xiao heard the door click shut and sighed, falling back against the fluffy bed.

"Zhou Yu, where are you?" She muttered to the stillness of the room. "Are you doing something dangerous again?"

xXx

Zhou Yu rolled out of the way of the oncoming pike and it embedded itself in the wood inches from his arm. Not losing his momentum he launched himself at the soldiers in front of him, cutting them to pieces. He took in a deep breath and choked, falling to his knees and coughing terribly into his hand. His breath hitched and his eyes widened as he felt sticky wetness on his hand. Taking his hand away, he stared at the blood on it in shock. The enemy soldiers, taking advantage of this, shrieked and started forward to slash him to pieces. Grasping the ancient sword, he slashed his adversaries across the chest and kept on running, his breath coming in short, quick gasps. He wiped his mouth with the back of his free hand and kicked open the door to the private quarters of Inosuke.

Anger flared in his heart as he stepped forward until he was in the middle of the wide room. "Inosuke, I have come to annihilate you for what you have done to all those innocent people that you slaughtered."

He winced at the familiar laugh that cut through the air and his eyes focused on the figure shrouded in darkness in front of him. "What a pleasant surprise...that my precious slave would do all this just to visit me. I'm honored, but your sacrifice will have been in vain. Really, is the thought of me ruling Japan so terrible?"

"This country has no room for people like you." Zhou Yu muttered quietly, though his voice still found a way to fill the whole room.

Inosuke laughed again. "Have I really done so bad a job of ruling this province? The economy is booming and war has slowly caused it to grow. I only want this for the whole country of Japan! A united front from which I can take over the whole world!"

Zhou Yu's eyes narrowed, "The world is a lot bigger than you think. If you think that an old man like you could ever accomplish such a thing you are wrong."

"Why do you think all those whore's lived in my castle? For pleasure? I think not. From them I have produced enough heirs to last me until the entire world is conquered." He grinned as the door to the old mans right opened and a woman stepped inside. "Would you like to see my oldest heir?" He gripped the woman's arm tightly and thrust her forward towards Zhou Yu.

His eyes widened in recognition as the woman who had helped him escape so long ago when he was close to death. "You!" He voice caught in his throat and he fell to his knee's again, spilling blood onto the floor. The woman averted her eyes, arms clutched around a small baby not even a toddler.

"I meant to run," The woman whispered, "But after he forced me to have this child, I couldn't." The baby started wailing and she smiled at him. "Somehow, Inosuke found out that I had helped you and..."

Zhou Yu silenced her with a hand motion and rose to his feet, dark eyes blazing with fury at Inosuke. "I'm sorry he whispered to the woman, not looking at her. He wiped the dark blood off his face and raised his sword in challenge. "I shall kill you Inosuke, I don't know how many lives you've destroyed, but I shall offer this bit of atonement to their souls...by destroying you." He charged the old man, raising the Ancient Sword to stab him.

At the last moment Inosuke raised his own weapon and blocked the legendry sword from slicing his head away. "Did you think it would be so easy?" Inosuke growled, "That poison is slowly killing you, draining your strength. You don't have much time left now, your former strength has vanished." The Lord knocked Zhou Yu back and swung at him repeatedly with his own blade as the strategist stumbled. Zhou Yu let himself fall back until his free hand touched the floor and swung his feet over his head, alighting on the floor out of the range of Inosuke's weapon.

A spasm of pain attacked his chest and made him double over, hacking blood onto his hand. Inosuke took this opportunity to slash at his opponent, grazing Zhou Yu's cheek with the tip of his sword as the younger man dodged. Inosuke slammed into the younger man so suddenly that he lost his breath. Inosuke rammed him into the wall and pinned him to the wood. Zhou Yu coughed, trying to refill his empty lungs as his back dug into the solid wall behind him.

"In what world could a weak slave like you ever defeat me?" Inosuke growled into Zhou Yu's ear, stabbing him in the shoulder with his blade. Zhou Yu cried out in dizzying pain as cold metal slid itself farther into him until it burst through the other side of his arm and attached into the wall. A sudden knocking on the locked hall door interrupted both men into looking at it. The door gave an almighty grown and fell off its hinges onto the floor.

"Damn it! Why couldn't THIS door be paper too?!" Sun Ce's shout ricocheted off the walls of the still room as all eyes stared at him. "Stupid ass door!" He stepped past it and stopped in his tracks at the sight of his best friend. "Yu!" His eyes narrowed into slits as he charged at Inosuke. "Get away from him you stupid old bastard!"

Inosuke flinched out of the way, grasping the other sword at his hip and blocking Sun Ce's charge. "Hmpf, don't insult your elders you short little boy!"

Sun Ce's forhead creased in anger, "DON'T call me short damn it!" He yelled, charging at Inosuke again. His mind clouded by anger he didn't notice the knife until it was too late. Inosuke plunged his knife into Sun Ce's abdomenand The Little Conqueror yelped in surprised hurt. A knee to the stomach made him double over from pain and fall to his knees. Inosuke slammed the hilt of his blade into Sun Ce's temple, and he toppled to the floor unconscious.

"Sun Ce!" Zhou Yu cried, clenching his teeth and pulling the sword out of his shoulder with a groan. Blood seeped down his shirt and onto the floor. The strategist could feel himself weakening from blood loss already. Never the less, he straightened up and tossed Inosuke's sword to the floor, hearing his own blood splatter against the wood. Stooping down, he picked up his own sword and pointed it at Inosuke once again. "I shall never let you go through with this plot of yours Inosuke. It's the end of the line. Your life ends here."

Inosuke smirked, "Oh really?" He looked Zhou Yu up and down. "You can barely stand. I think its time for this act of yours to end." The man flew forward with surprising agility and slammed his sword straight down towards Zhou Yu. Blocking the man's sword with his own, they fought to gain dominance over the deadlock. Blood leaked out from his shoulder wound and dripped onto the ground. His eyes widened as his shoulder suddenly gave out, and Inosuke took the upper hand, knocking Zhou Yu's sword away.

"No! Look out!" Zhou Yu heard a woman scream, and looked up right before a blinding pain enveloped him.

Sun Ce moaned, looking up blearily, just as Inosuke knocked the sword of Zhou Yu's hands and threw a knife at his best friend. Zhou Yu yelped as the metal imbedded itself into his left eye. "Yu?!" Sun Ce cried running towards his friend as the black haired strategist fell to the ground in a pool of his own blood. "Zhou Yu! Dammit! Get up!" Sun Ce collapsed next to his friends fallen body, eyes wide with disbelief. "Damn it...what about your oath?!" Sun Ce balled his fists into his friends shirt. "You promised you'd help me conquer China! Yu! DAMN IT!"

**TBC...**

**Yes I know, there was a lot of swearing in this chapter...especially the last paragraph...but come on, give him a break! I'm NOT going to tell you if zhou Yu just died or not, you'll find out in the next and final chapter. Oh yeah! My aunt had a baby on January 13th, so now I have another cousin! He was born on Orlando Blooms birthday! How...ironic...**

**Anyway, please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**The Stranger**

**This is the final chapter. I'm so grateful to everyone for your support!**

**Chapter 10: Home**

Inosuke's cold laugh filled the room, entering every crevice, and filling the ears of those in the room with chilling desire. "I guess he wasn't as great as he thought he was." Sun Ce laid Zhou Yu's body carefully on the floor and stood up carefully due to the wound in his abdomen. He grasped his tonfa in his hands and stepped around his fallen friend.

"You've caused a lot of pain." Sun Ce growled, glaring at the Lord with furious hazel eyes that blazed with a fire that could only come from the son of Sun Jian. "And you've killed a lot of people to get what you want."

Inosuke grinned, "But isn't that how we're so much alike?" He stepped forward with a half smirk on his face. "You're goal is to unite China, and mine is to unite the entire world. You've killed for your goal, and so have I. The only difference is that I am stronger. I have decades of experience, and you have hardly any. I am the dragon, and you are the mouse." Inosuke raised his sword. "And that is why, even if you live here, I will surely kill you quickly. So go back to China and conquer it. I will be there the next day to kill you."

Sun Ce scoffed, raising his tonfa, "Sorry old man. Your life ends here." He started towards the old man, "Don't ever make the mistake, of thinking that we are alike at all!" Inosuke stabbed at Sun Ce, but the little conqueror dodged and sent a roundhouse kick at the lord's head. "I never slaughtered innocent people! And I never will!" Inosuke stumbled backwards from the sheer power of the blow. "And NEVER make the mistake of calling me a mouse!" Sun Ce used his momentum to land blow after blow on Inosuke from his Tonfa. "I am the son of a Tiger!" Sun Ce hissed in Inosuke's ear. "And a Tiger is what I will always be!" He flipped out a knife and slashed the old man's jugular artery, spouting blood all over the floor.

Inosuke screeched fumbling to stop the bleeding before it killed him. "Damn wretch! Damn fool!" The old man wallowed, screaming in pain as Sun Ce grabbed the ancients sword from where it lay on the ground and slashed off Inosuke's arms. The little conqueror grasped Inosuke by the shirt collar and lifted him off the ground.

"So, before you die, I need an antidote for my friend." Sun Ce growled in the sobbing man's face.

"There isn't one! Only my wife knows the cure!" Inosuke sobbed, tears wallowing down his chin and soaking in with the blood dripping down his neck. Sun Ce scowled, slicing off the mans head and dropping the body to the floor. He looked at Zhou Yu's still form and dropped the weapon to the ground, bangs falling over his eyes as his shoulders shook from unheard sobs.

The woman shushed her baby as it sobbed, quietly kneeling next to Zhou Yu and feeling for a pulse. "He's alive," Her hushed voice explained, and she slipped a vial out of her kimono. Sun Ce looked at her with wide hazel eyes. "Inosuke forced me to create the poison that filled the air, so I created an antidote without his knowledge. It will take a while for it to counteract the poison, but it will save his life." She explained, opening Zhou Yu's mouth and forcing the potion down by rubbing his throat gently. "I've saved his life a few times already, so I know how much trouble he gets into." She smiled, unwrapping her oni and slipping out of her kimono so that only her yukata and silk slip were worn. She carefully took out the knife lodged in Zhou Yu's eye, along with the eye itself, and stripped the kimono, wrapping the silk around the eye to stop the bleeding.

Sun Ce knelt next to her, watching in fascination as she saved his best friends life. "What's your name?" He asked, helping her strip cloth.

She smiled, mind focused on her work. "Uokami Keiko," she stood, holding her child in her arms. "We must leave before your fire kills us. Carry your friend, we must run to the doctors to save you and your friend."

**One month later, port**

"So, you are leaving?" Keiko asked, looking at the two men in front of her, holding her child to her chest. "Japan will miss you. As will the Empress herself." Free of brothel life, Keiko was helping out the doctor she had taken them to, evidently the same one that had helped Zhou Yu with his wounds all those years ago.

Sun Ce laughed, "Yeah, I get the feeling that we've lingered way to long here. Even though Zhou Yu wasn't in the mood for travel." Sun Ce lifted his bag to his shoulder and looked over as Zhou Yu returned from the ship.

The dark haired man was rubbing his left shoulder with a scowl on his face. Spotting Keiko his gaze softened and he let his arm drop to his side. "It's been a whole month, but I'm still not used to being unable to see from my left eye."

Sun Ce perked up, "You know who you remind me of?" Sun Ce scrutinized his friends black eye patch for a moment. "Xiahou Dun."

Zhou Yu scowled, "Give it a rest Sun Ce!" He almost yelled, temper getting the best of him. I'm getting rather tired of that joke! Come up with something better!"

Keiko laughed, clutching the child close. "Japan's hero's, fighting with each other? Now we can't have that! You must act honorable! You have the official grace of the Empress now, you know!"

Zhou Yu and Sun Ce both smiled at her, "Yeah, we know." Sun Ce said softly. "Thanks for everything."

"You've saved my life so many times," Zhou Yu smiled, "I am indebted to you." He stepped on the boarding planks and waved farewell, almost toppling over the left side as he stumbled but caught himself.

Sun Ce laughed at his sworn brothers newfound clumsiness and flashed Keiko the smile that convinced anyone and everyone to love him. "Hey, as soon as I conquer China, I'll come visit again, with my family, of course. You and Da would make great friends I think. And Shang Xiang is always happy to see a new place."

Keiko nodded, "I'll be waiting for it then. Just make sure you keep Zhou Yu out of trouble without me. And when you come, bring him along."

Sun Ce laughed, "Well duh! He is family after all!"

**one month later, Jiang Ye**

Sun Ce and Zhou Yu dismounted their respectful steeds and gazed at the palace in front of them. "Man I've missed this place." Sun Ce murmured, stretching his arms skyward. "Its great to be home, don't you think, Yu?"

Zhou Yu flipped his long dark hair out of his eye and took a deep breath, "Yes, I'd say it is." They stepped into the entrance hall and brushed off their cloaks. Sun Quan's voice could be heard through the door, followed closely by Shang Xiang's own voice, raised in anger.

Sun Ce smirked, "Well, this is what I get for coming back unannounced." He threw open the doors the inner chamber with a flourish. "Hey! What's the point of a sibling argument without me?!" He shouted, getting speechless and dumbfound stares from the people in the room.

Shang Xiang shook her head and jogged to her brother, wrapping her arms around him. "Thank god you're back Ce!" Her voice wavered, close to tears. "Quan wants to marry me to Liu Bei!"

Sun Ce raised a bemused eye to Sun Quan, who folded his arms over his chest and gained a stubborn look on his face. "Alright Quan, spill it. Why do you want to marry your sister off without my say?"

Sun Quan frowned, "You left brother, and I am trying to do what I think is best for Wu. The thing is, if we don't ally with Liu Bei, Cao Cao will wipe us off the map."

Sun Ce opened his mouth to argue, but Zhou Yu stepped out of the shadows and quickly crossed the room to look at the map on the table. "These are the kingdom borders?" He muttered quickly engrossed in work.

The younger Sun siblings stared in shock at the dark haired man already pouring over the maps. "Ce, is that Zhou Yu?" Shang Xiang whispered in shock, green eyes widening in astonishment. "What happened to him? Did he get his memories back? How did he lose his eye?"

"Yeah Shang, that's Yu, but we've gotta save the story for him. It's not mine to tell."

Sun Quan smiled, "Its Zhou Yu! Great! Now we can find the best strategy!"

Zhou Yu lifted his head, brushing hair out of his eye, "Well Sun Quan, it is a good strategy, however, we must not use it just yet." He got to his feet looking at the Sun Jian's children. "We must wait for the opportune moment. When we ally with Liu Bei, it will not be us who asks but Liu Bei himself. At the moment we should concentrate on small regional lords and securing our own borders and army."

Sun Shang Xiang frowned, "So, I cannot marry whom I like?"

Zhou Yu frowned, shaking his head gravely, "I am afraid that is a luxury which always seems to allude the princess. Instead of marrying for love, you will marry for duty and your love for your family. I've heard however, that Liu Bei is a virtuous man who will treat you correctly."

Shang Xiang made a face at Zhou Yu, "But he's so old!"

Sun Ce laughed heartedly, "Don't worry Shang Xiang, I wont let Zhou Yu marry you to some heartless person! Once I've met this Liu Bei I'll decide what I should do! Not a moment before."

"It's better than Cao Cao, my lord." Zhou Yu murmured, making Sun Ce flinch.

Spinning back to face his friend Sun Ce scowled and poked an accusing finger at his friend. "I told you NOT to call me that Yu!"

Shang Xiang smiled brightly, "Well, you know, now that everyone has returned, I think it's high time to hold a banquet to celebrate the return of our two commanders. Its time for everyone to drink and be merry, just like we HAVEN'T been for years."

Zhou Yu looked at his sworn brothers sister with a surprised look. "Sun Shang Xiang, you have grown up!"

She glared at him and put a hand on her hip, "Well you've been gone a long time. I know that Xiao has missed you to pieces! So go see her already! I think I saw her in the garden." She glared at Sun Ce, "And you mister conqueror-play-hookie have a date with your own wife and country!"

xXx

Zhou Yu entered the peaceful gardens with a sigh, looking at the familiar area with a pleased smile. Settling himself under a tree, he withdrew his flute and started playing the familiar tune. A breeze picked up, lightly showering the ground with leaves.

"Yu."

The voice twisted through the garden like water from a mountain stream. He stopped playing and looked up spotting her almost immediately. Xiao Qiao's red and orange dress fluttered in the breeze and her long pony tail played in the air.

"Xiao." His breath caught in his throat, "You look exactly like you did long ago...on the night we first met."

Xiao's eyes welled up with tears, "Shang Xiang told me you had come back...I just had to make sure it was you." She stepped towards him carefully, as though he were a vision that disappeared. "You were playing that song the first time we met!" Soon she was running towards him, and burying her face in his white shirt. "I thought you were gone for good!" She sobbed, lying against his warm body. Wrapping his arms around her waist he smiled tenderly at her.

"My disappearance forced you to grow up so fast Xiao...I am so sorry, little flower."

"You promised you'd never leave me, but you left..." Xiao muttered, voice filled with childish defiance.

"I know...I apologize, I never expected it to happen." She raised her large brown eyes to look at him.

"Don't ever leave me for so long again Zhou Yu." She raised and delicate hand and touched his eye patch. "I knew you were in danger without me by your side." She said, tears scattered across her cheeks. "From now on, I'm staying by you. No matter what."

Zhou Yu cocked his head slightly, "Oh really? That does sound rather familiar..."

Xiao scowled, "Well this time I mean it! Look at the damage that happened because you ran off without me! I'm never going to let that happen again, okay?"

He tightened his hold on her and lowered his head until he caught her lips in his own, feeling the breeze and the slight brushing of the leaves around them. When he released her and opened his eye he smiled, "Okay."

**END**

**Wow! I finished it! -stunned silence- Anyway, I hope you all like it! Please enjoy, I tried my best on this chapter! I hope this could answer any questions you had, and remember, this was an AU story. **

**I hope you all enjoyed this story, and I'm sorry if I did not meet your expectations! I'm not sure if I'm going to make a one shot sequel to this or not, I guess you guys will just have to wait and see! Of course, if you tell me what you'd like I'd be happy to help! **

**Special thanks to everyone who has reviewed and has, or will, take the time to read this! Its been so much fun! **


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